Thursday, 27 November 2014

I know it's November, but along with red cups, John Lewis ads and people discussing their love/hate (delete as necessary) of Christmas jumpers, this time of year also brings me, CHRISTMAS SANDWICHES.

I bloody love a pre-packed Christmas sandwich and I'm not even sorry a little bit, Christmas Sandwiches are created by Christmas elves who want me to be excited about Christmas, and it WORKS.

Ok so I am a marketing mans dream, change the packaging of a turkey sandwich to red and I am alllllll over that sandwich like a Twitter user on a leaked naked pic. (SAVED) Throw in some chutney and the turkey isn't the only thing that is moist. (Anyone else hungry now? Or horny, either, or)

What I actually need is a Christmas sandwich AND a Starbucks red cup whilst watching toy penguins on adverts. THAT is the ultimate Christmas trifecta for me!

Now what I really want to know is, am I weird? (not in general, I think we all know the answer to that one) Am I alone in my love of Christmas sandwiches? And if I'm not, where is your favourite Christmas sandwich from?

Wednesday, 26 November 2014

In all the years that I have blogged I have never shied away from the difficult posts. There have been times when I haven't blogged about my personal issues or situations because I choose to keep some of my private life, private, but I always find this to be a place where I can say my piece and then people read it and then know that they are more than welcome to disagree with me or try to show me a differing opinion as long as they don't lower themselves to using bad words.

The one thing that I haven't talked about on Big Fashionista is the situation in Ferguson. Whether it is because I am British, white, or because I am just so far away from understanding what the hell has happened in Ferguson, it is not something that I have chosen to write about before now

Even now, as Ferguson burns and the parents of Michael Brown feel as if they have lost their son all over again due to the Grand Jury deciding not to indict Darrwn Wilson, I am at a loss to explain why this has all happened.

My genuine opinion here is that no-one should be shot dead by the police. Here in the UK we manage not to shoot people often, as a rule our police force do not even carry guns. We do ok.

I truly do not understand why, in the USA after SO many people, children and innocents have lost their lives over the years in accidental shootings, school shootings and murders, many people in the USA want to hold on to the very thing that kills their children. Perhaps because I have not been brought up with guns being part of my everyday life but I cannot, just CANNOT, understand why people want to own guns. Guns are to kill things, and for me, that is unacceptable. When you own a gun, using it is an option, a choice. I don't think I would want that choice.

What concerns me the most in ALL of this situation is hearing people saying that Michael Brown deserved it, he was a thief, a troublemaker, he stole. Therefore he got what he deserved.

What he DESERVED was the same consideration that was given to Darren Wilson. A trial. A jury of HIS peers deciding whether he committed a criminal act and should be punished for it in a COURT OF LAW.

That would have been justice in my opinion.

Not trial by media. After his death.

But instead, another American family have lost their child, and I find it heartbreaking in this day and age that happens to anyone.

Justice served no one I feel.

What do you think?

Let me know.

As always, feel free to disagree with me. Just lets not use bad words.

Monday, 24 November 2014

So I have a cold. I'm feeling like crap and currently working from under a duvet.

I do not make a very good sick person I must admit.

The problem with having a cold is that you feel awful but usually just look a bit meh. Runny nose, red eyes and the sneezes. What I actually feel like is that someone ran me over, buried me and then dug me up a month later. (I possibly smell this way too, I can't tell, my nose is blocked)

The problem is, as a parent, you don't have time to be ill. If I was a child is probably get a couple of days off school, in bed, with my mummy looking after me bringing me hot blackcurrant and telling me to rest.

Instead, I get Beechams cold relief. IT'S NOT FAIR

I am poorly sick and I want my bed. I'd stamp my foot but I don't have the energy.

So I'm going to need your help with some quick fire remedies to cure a cold that will get me feeling better asap.

I usually swear by hot blackcurrant (thanks mum) but I don't have any.

What do you do to get over a cold quickly? Or do you have a story about what your mum used to give you to make you feel better?

Saturday, 22 November 2014

Friday, 21 November 2014

So I managed to desperately disappoint some of you yesterday with the title of my post "What Would Willow Do?" For SOME of you, Willow is part of Buffy and you all hopped over here expecting a post about Buffy.

Sorry about that.

What I did promise to do to make it up to you, was a post about Buffy in the future and the best way to do that HAS to be Nom or Vom, so without any further ado, I bring you this week's Nom or Vom

DAVID BOREANAZ

And yet wait, who is THIS? Shall I rename this one, What Would Buffy do?

I also bring you....

JAMES MARSTERS

Personally I was always more of a Spike girl myself.

But how about you? If you had to Nom one and Vom the other, who would you choose?

Thursday, 20 November 2014

After reading the interview with Jaden and Willow Smith in Time Magazine on Tuesday, I wondered, can I too live and learn by and from the teachings of the Smiths. (not you, Morrisey, sit down)

I decided to spend some time following the ways of Willow and Jaden because, well you know, living.

Waking up in the morning is always hard for me so for my first foray into the world of the Smith children, I decided to heed the words of 16 yr old actor and musician, Jaden Smith who stated "the huge, terrible thing in the world would be missing by not expressing yourself... So I told my alarm to F off and went back to sleep for half an hour.

This now meant that I was going to be late, but in following my new gurus I knew I had an opportunity to put this right. Willow states that she can make time go slow or fast, and that's why she knows it doesn't exist.

Alrighty then.

Unfortunately, neither Willow or Jaden explain how they do this. So I just set the clocks back half an hour in my house. Done.

By this point in the morning I was fully understanding what they had meant by "The feeling of being like, this is a fragment, of a holographic reality that a higher consciousness made" but then I realised I hadn't had my morning coffee yet. Phew, I'm feeling ya, guys. Really feeling your pain.

Next was the school run, Willow and Jaden state that "School is not authentic, because it ends. It's not true, it's not real"

I thought that to be truly authentic, that perhaps I too should keep my teenage children home from school so that they can be less "angsty" and less "tired" but then I realised that we would probably not all make it to the end of the day in one piece, and let's face it, I'm not that stupid. Bye bye, teenagers of mine. Try not to let the door hit you on the way out the house.

I quickly check through the teachings of the Smiths once again to see if there is anything in there about not drinking tea and coffee. Thankfully they seem to have avoided any mention of not taking in caffeine, so I have a cup of tea and I think about leaving the house (PARKLIFE)

Firstly I have to write a novel, because I have nothing to read. I decide that a small poem will have to do.

Roses are red,

Hydrangeas are blue

Because of the ph levels in the soil

Caterpillar.

I really feel that I am just starting to GET these people.

I dwell on the fact that Willow talks about how you have to breathe to live and I try to get in touch with the "sacred space of my heart" for a while, but that's hard. So I just breathe in and out for a bit instead and feel proud, coz you know? Living.

At this point, I decide that I now know everything that there is to know about everything.

Thank you Willow and Jaden, just keep on, you know? Living.

What do you think? Have you read the Willow and Jaden article? Have you too learnt from the teachings of the Smiths? Join us, or leave me a comment, either or.

Wednesday, 19 November 2014

With Christmas fast approaching and Christmas adverts getting more and more like films, it is heartening to see old favourites like Duracell on my screen talking about putting Duracell batteries in toys to make them last longer.

Bless their innocence, I'm the person that takes batteries OUT of things after they have driven me to distraction for 24 hours, or swaps out one new battery for an old one so it doesn't last as long (pro tip, right there)

Then I notice that Duracell are using a FURBY in their advert. Seriously Duracell, if there was EVER a thing that didn't need it's battery life extending....

Furbys are the work of the devil. I used to have one myself, (Yes, I was an adult, I bloody loved it.) I don't know what happened to it, but I KNOW it is sitting wherever it went, just WAITING for me to come back. Furbys don't die, they just sleep, and wait...... FOREVER.

When Furbys came back, I remembered my old Furby with fondness, (forgetting all the times it had sat on a shelf laughing to itself in the middle of the night, freaking me out) and thought it would make a great gift for one of my children.

NO, just no.

Evil, wrapped in fur, that's what they are. You know those baby dolls that never stop crying? Even when they are meant to? They are AMATEURS compared to a Furby. No matter where you hide it, it will find you, it has no concept of time, it can be the middle of the night and it will call to you. You may not have seen it for a week or two (where DO they go?) but when you least expect it, it will open its eyes and spout gobbledygook like a possessed gerbil on Halloween, scaring the living SHIT out of you.

Furbys don't CARE whether you are tired, whether you are pregnant or whether you have a heart condition, it just wants to EAT YOUR FINGER.

And Duracell tell us, "No battery lasts longer"? I'm sorry Duracell but if I EVER have to have a Furby in my house again, once I have had it exorcised, the last thing I am going to do is put long-lasting batteries in it. Poundland batteries or NOTHING.

Although part of me worries that it would still keep going. Evil little buggers.

What do you think? Do you share my distrust of Furbys? Or do you have fond memories of the little bastards?

Monday, 3 November 2014

So I'm sure we all know the story that originally Cinderella originally wore fur slippers not glass ones? (apparently this isn't true according to snopes but it works with this post so just roll with me here)

IF Cinderella truly wore fur slippers then she was missing a trick, what she SHOULD have worn are my new Harris Tweed slippers from Bedroom Athletics (Yes I KNOW there is another track I could have taken this post down but I'm being CLASSY today, ok?)

"If you are not lucky enough to live in Yorkshire, then the next best thing you can do is visit Yorkshire" - Kellie Brown, 2014

If you do visit Yorkshire, one place that I highly recommend visiting is the beautiful coastal town of Scarborough. Scarborough is in North Yorkshire and has beautiful bays with lovely beaches, a picturesque harbour and some fascinating points of interest that are enough to keep everyone happy. Scarborough is a beautiful, beautiful place.

Just ten minutes down the road from the coast, nestled cosily into 17 acres of grounds is a gem of a hotel called Ox Pasture Hall Hotel, I was lucky enough to be invited to stay overnight in the hotel last week and I won't even apologise for the number of pictures I am going to share with you on this post.

I could tell you how beautiful the grounds were, with little snugs everywhere so that you can sit, relax and enjoy the view. I could wax lyrical about the size of the suites and how comfortable the beds were.I could bore you with stories about how the staff were not just professional but warm and welcoming too. I could make you envious with tales of how skilled the chefs are and how exquisite our meals were. I could even tell you how the taps in the bathroom were just perfection.

But then I thought, why not just show you?

The grounds of Ox Pasture Hall are something that the hotel is rightly proud of. There are so many places to sit and relax. There are discreet seating areas dotted around the grounds where you can sit and talk, or do as we did in the evening and just sit and watch the setting sun. The grounds are beautifully tended and lit perfectly at night so that it flatters the surrounding area with soft lighting, enough to see and yet appreciate the beauty of the darkness. The hotel is bathed in a warm glow at night making it extremely impressive and welcoming.

I have genuinely never enjoyed myself as much or relaxed as much as I did on my overnight stay at Ox Pasture. It would be EASY to say, "Oh she is only saying this because she got it for free" or "Well she has to be nice in a review" but that isn't how I work. I am lucky enough to have stayed in some beautiful hotels over the last year and this is by far the best hotel I have stayed in and the most relaxing break I have taken.

The inside of the hotel is just as inviting.

The beds were huge and comfortable, the bathroom was fantastic, in fact I could have easily slept in the huge bath, so large was the bathroom. The style of the taps just rocked my world, I think I need these taps in my life and you do not want to get me started on the fluffiness of both the towels and the bathrobes.

I want to talk about the food in a separate post as it was too delicious to just be a footnote here, if you did want to find out more about dining at Ox Pasture Hall in the meantime, you can find out more here, Ox Pasture Dining but I will give you just a small peek at the quality and presentation of my evening meal.

Another point to note is that the hotel is pet friendly, something which can be difficult to find, especially in a hotel of this class but Ox Pasture welcome dogs with open arms. They even allow your dog to dine with you in the bistro/bar area and the staff were quick to provide us with a dog bowl to be able to keep in the room.

Something that has become increasingly popular these days is hotels offering wedding packages. Ox Pasture is licensed for civil weddings and partnerships and has incredible facilities to hold your reception in the grounds. If you are interested in perhaps holding your wedding at Ox Pasture, you can find out more here. Ox Pasture Hall Wedding facilities

I can show you hundreds more pictures, each one as breathtaking as the last, but it is only a small glimpse into the beautiful world of Ox Pasture Hall Hotel. We spent one night at the hotel and it was superb.

Would I go back?

Yes I would.

Will I go back?

I will.

Ox Pasture is not a cheap bed and breakfast in Scarborough, this is a boutique hotel with all the comforts of a country home where one night is the relaxation equivalent of a short break somewhere else. If you gave me the choice of a couple of nights away elsewhere or one night away at Ox Pasture then there is no doubt that I would spend my time wrapped in a dressing gown admiring the beautiful views at Ox Pasture.

And if you stayed there too. you would agree with me.

Quality far outweighs quantity and Ox Pasture is most DEFINITELY a high quality place to stay.

I would love your opinion on Ox Pasture Hall and this post, have you stayed there, or would you want to? Has my post persuaded you to go pay them a visit?